Beneath the Sakura
by yuriprincess
Summary: Otaru got the chance to read Lime's diary. Know what's inside it.


Author's note: This is a Saber Marionette J fic. I'm merely borrowing SMJ characters. STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY.  
  
Dedication: For Kitsune011 who didn't come to my debut so that he could attend the Anime Convention (C3Con)... Arigatou gozaimasu. _  
  
~~Beneath the Sakura~~  
  
=== In this world there's sadness so profound you can't even cry Like you're being surrounded by a deep, endless darkness...  
-Cross My Heart  
  
I was merely cleaning their room when she came in. I wasn't doing anything wrong, except maybe that I was holding a thick notebook, which I saw near her futon earlier. I guess I wasn't good in lying because when I told her that I didn't read anything from it, she didn't believe me. She cried in front of me, ashamed I think, for knowing her deep, dark secrets. And worse, I couldn't make her stop.  
  
"Lime," I tried to call her but she wasn't looking up or answering my call. And something snapped inside my head. "If you can cry like that, then you could already feel."  
  
That made her look up to my face and stared at me. Quiet and disturbed. I could see in her eyes, her transparency made it even harder for me to bear.  
  
"Baka!" She screamed at my face, grabbed the notebook and stormed out of their room.  
  
I shrugged.  
  
***  
  
I saw her that evening near the Sakura tree beside the house. It was dark but her human-like features came in, shining from the moonlight. I walked towards her, slowly and quietly.  
  
When I was about to touch her shoulders and say her name, she turned around and hugged me. I was stunned. Really stunned.  
  
"Otaru-sama," She began to whisper. "Tell me everything you've read from this diary."  
  
I didn't speak at first. I guess I was trying to find the exact words. But when I didn't speak, her voice came in loud beside my ear.  
  
"Come on, Otaru-sama. Just tell me." She broke away from me. "I won't be mad."  
  
I opened my mouth to speak, and when I said the first word, Lime sat down on the pile of fallen Sakura on the ground. I knelt in front of her. She was sitting quietly, hugging her knees to her chest, her head bowed down.  
  
"Lime, I didn't read anything. I promise." I said.  
  
Without looking up, she nodded. She hugged her knees even tighter, shifted her position, almost hiding in the shadows beneath the tree.  
  
"Otaru-sama," Her voice seemed cold, sad. "I can feel."  
  
I was about to ask her if she could explain what she said but she stood up so abruptly and left me without another word.  
  
And it was my turn to hide in its shadows. ***  
  
The next day, I didn't see most of Lime. Cherry and Bloodberry kept on walking towards me, saying hi and hello, as if it didn't tire them. Cherry cooked for lunch, and Bloodberry practiced her punches and kicks on Hanagata the whole afternoon.  
  
I wondered what Lime had been doing.  
  
That night, when I thought that everyone was asleep, I crept towards the Sakura tree, expecting to find Lime in its shadows.  
  
But she wasn't there. All I saw was the thick notebook, which started it all.  
  
And so I was tempted to read it, finish it, even until dawn.  
  
+++ ("Otaru-sama hugged me today. He even whispered to my ear last night. He said 'good night.' It wasn't a big deal, really. But I'm beginning to see Otaru-sama in a different way. And there's something different in the way I behave too, the way I feel. It surprised me that I could already cry. As if I'm human.")  
  
The moon crept behind the Sakura and its shadow casted on the beautifully crafted leaves. It became harder for me to read what's left written.  
  
("Sometimes I would just sit by the window pane while watching him rake the leaves on the yard. And he would pile 'em in colored sacks, and Hanagata would jump around them. And I would see the smile on Otaru-sama's face. And I would find myself falling all over again. Just like the first time.")  
  
My eyes shone in tears. I tried to close the diary, so I wouldn't be reading the rest of it. But I couldn't. I wanted to know more.  
  
("As far as I can remember, my usual dream starts with nothing special. Then Otaru-sama would appear, and he would hold me close. I would feel his breath on my skin, on my face. I would feel his warm embrace, I would look in his eyes and he would gaze back to mine. But I have always known that all of it was a dream. JUST a dream. And I would always feel the urge to wish to stay inside that dream forever.")  
  
I felt a tear slid down my face. I wiped it with the back of my hand when I saw a black figure on the ground.  
  
I realized... she was kneeling beside me, her head placed on my shoulder, and my shoulders were drenched.  
  
"Lime," I started to speak expecting that she would interrupt me as she always did. But she didn't say anything. "Lime, I..." She removed her head from my shoulders.  
  
"I told you, Otaru-sama." She shifted to face me. And she was sad, and her voice was still cold. Even colder, actually.  
  
"I told you, I can feel."  
  
***  
  
Days passed and when she's nowhere to be seen, I would find her beneath the Sakura tree. Still sad, and weary. I wanted to make her happy. I wanted to keep her as she was when she was sassy and cheerful and energetic. I wanted to tell her that I love her. I wanted to.  
  
But I told you, I'm not good in lying. 


End file.
